Journalist was passionate advocate for Hawaii statehood
Charles Parmiter III / Former Star-Bulletin reporter
Charles Alfred Parmiter III, a former Honolulu Star-Bulletin reporter, died on March 4 in Macharaviaya, Spain. He was 73.
His son, Ian, said his father was born in Quincy, Mass., and was the son of an Episcopal minister, Charles Parmiter Jr. The family moved to the islands in the late 1940s and his grandfather served as headmaster of Iolani School.
Charles Parmiter III graduated from the University of Hawaii and during the Korean War was a correspondent for Stars and Stripes.
After the war, Charles Parmiter went to work for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, where he met his first wife, Terry Alauzet, who covered the arrival of the cruise ship Lurline and interviewed the celebrities.
"He initially wrote an entertainment column called 'Late Night with Charles Parmiter,'" Ian recalled.
Ian Parmiter said that several years ago when he met Don Ho, the Waikiki entertainer still remembered "hanging out with him at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel."
Ian Parmiter said his father "was a passionate advocate for Hawaii's statehood and on March 8, 1959, wrote a story giving the case for Hawaii's statehood." Ian Parmiter said that story was picked up and appeared in more than 900 newspapers on the mainland.
"He was honored in a resolution on March 24, 1959, by the Hawaii House of Representatives for this important step leading to statehood," his son said.
Charles Parmiter then went to work for Time magazine, serving as its sports editor throughout the 1960s, covering celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Namath, Roger Staubach, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
In 1970, he moved to Spain and became a freelance writer, working for a variety of publications, including People, Business Week and Readers Digest.
He also had a stint at the National Enquirer as an articles editor.
Charles Parmiter was a member of the American Club and was also active in St. Georges Anglican Church in Malaga, where his funeral service was held Saturday.
He is survived by his wife, Rosella; son Ian of Fairfield, Conn.; and sister Phyllis of Santa Clarita, Calif.
